Deputyship

[DeputyDawgg]

• I have posted this in Chat for traffic but posting here also.

Has anyone applied for Deputyship recently? How long did it take?

I have a relative who unfortunately needs to go into care. No PoA in place, so I, or another family member will need to apply for Deputyship, as they have been deemed to not have capacity.

They will be funded by the local authority initially but there is a property to be taken into account at some point & it will have to be sold to fund their care.

I am unsure whether we should apply for Deputyship, or let the local authority do it.

Any thoughts?

Do you want the local authority to ask the court of protection to appoint a local solicitor to do it at a vast cost, or does someone from the family want to volunteer?

If you ask the LA to do it they will ask the court to appoint a deputy which will be a solicitor's firm who will charge £££ for every decision they have to make.

If there is any other option then it's always worth family being deputy if it's relatively uncomplex. If there is any kind of family dispute or really complex finances to manage then it's worth having an independent 3rd party, but it will mean that any inheritance will disappear unless there is millions of pounds involved.

Ours took about 4 months. Unfortunately the pending house sale is currently at 18 months ☹️. LA has been remarkably patient.

I got a deputyship in September, t took me about 3 months for a deputyship to come through. You do have to pay fees for it, there are annual fees and you have to get a bond to cover the property value. It's better to do within the family rather than get the LA to do it, as you won't have any say in your relatives care and money. The LA will charge for this and pass their solicitor fees, legal fees. property valuation fees to your relatives estate and charge compound interest on monies used against the property which makes it very, very expensive. Still better to do yourself even though there are charges.

@hatgirl thanks for your response. There won't be a huge inheritance left, as the house isn't worth a lot & care home fees will quickly use up the sale proceeds.

Once my relative's savings drop to below the permitted amount, the LA wine funding again anyway. 🫤

@HeddaGarbled the LA were great when we were having to wait ages for probate for my Mum & hadn't got access to funds to pay her care home bill. Think it was 2 years before it was sorted.

@kimmylimb thanks. Yep I read about the Bond & annual expenses.

It's pretty standard. As long as the LA finance team known the house is for sale at a reasonable price they won't chase.

Is deputyship a lot of work?

Depends how complex the person's affairs are, I guess.

My relative's affairs are straightforward. Apart from having to keep very detailed records of any expenditure, I don't think it will be too onerous. 🤞